OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso (AP) — Burkina Faso's new military leader came under growing pressure Sunday to hand over power to a civilian government, as about 1,000 people gathered in the capital to express concern over his selection by the army after the president of 27 years was forced out.
Lt. Col. Isaac Yacouba Zida was appointed transitional leader by the army on Saturday, hours after another army general had initially indicated he would lead Burkina Faso after the departure of longtime President Blaise Compaore.
Compaore stepped down after protesters torched the parliament in a show of anger over his bid to amend the constitution so he could seek a fifth term in this desperately poor, landlocked West African country. He and his family fled to Ivory Coast.
Sunday's rally also underscored divisions within the opposition — some activists who had long opposed Compaore called for an inclusive transition while others questioned the legitimacy of Zida's rule altogether.
Stanislas Benewinde Sankara, the leader of one opposition party, called for the dismissal of Zida's government.
"The army cannot lead us — they have disqualified themselves," said Sankara, who is of no relation to the late slain Burkinabe leader with the same name. "This is the result of a popular insurrection."
The United States and the African Union also have condemned the power grab by the military.
"We call on the military to immediately transfer power to civilian authorities," said State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki. "We urge civilian leadership to be guided by the spirit of the constitution of Burkina Faso and to move immediately towards free and fair Presidential elections."
African Union Chairperson Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma called for a "civilian-led transition that would culminate, as soon as possible, in the holding of free, fair and transparent elections."
"She stresses the duty and obligation of the defense and security forces to place themselves at the disposal of the civilian authorities who should lead the transition and to act in a republican spirit," read a statement from her office.
Burkina Faso, though mired in poverty, had long been a country of stability in politically violatile West Africa. Compaore had served as a political mediator in a bloody postelection dispute in Ivory Coast.
However, frustration mounted as he sought legislative approval for a bill that would have enabled him to seek yet another term in office. Compaore, who first took power in 1987 after a coup that left visionary leader Thomas Sankara slain, had subsequently won four elections all disputed by the political opposition.
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